Diatom

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Transcript of Diatom

Diatoms By: Elshaddai Abel Elyse Harvey Alexia Mathew Where are they found? Diatoms can be found in both freshwater and saltwater. They can be found in most bodies of water all around the globe. They can also be found on rocks, plants, mud, and other things in or around water. How do they effect humans? Diatoms are crucial to human life.Diatoms produce more oxygen than all the world's tropical forests put together. They are also used in some other things we use in our daily life. People with pools use them in pool filters and their dried up bodies (yes their puny little dried up bodies) are great for killing bugs because their sharp bodies cut through insect legs, where the bugs breathe (yes they breathe through their legs and other parts of their body too). Other things diatoms can be found in are paper, paint , ceramics, detergent, medicines, solvents, chemicals and many more. Do diatoms have special growth requirements? Even though they are protists, diatoms photosynthesize. Diatoms literally "go with the flow" to get from one place to another. The Basics Here's the basic information about diatoms Diatoms are algae in the protists group. They live in various bodies of water from small freshwater fish tanks to great big saltwater oceans. When clumped together, you can see them with your naked eye. They appear as a brownish slime which can be found on rocks near or in bodies of water. Diatoms come in many different shapes and sizes as shown in the picture to the left. Diatom Art Diatom art is what you have been seeing in every slide of this presentation. Diatom art is a form of art where scientists put the diatoms in a certain order to create a piece of art that is brightly colored and creative. Diatom art looks kind of like what you see when you look inside a kaleidoscope or like stained glass. Diatom Structure Diatoms come in many shapes and sizes which makes it pretty hard to describe a definite structure but here is the structure of one diatom. Frustule: The shell of the diatom consisting of two partsEpitheca: The outer half of frustuleHypotheca: The inner part of the frustulePhotosynthesis Pigments: Colors that capture sunlight for photosynthesis